Blessed Be the Hour - Walter von der Vogelweide

Blessed be the hour when first I knew her,
Her who with heart and soul did rout me;
When all my senses were aroused to woo her,
I felt her goodness hover all about me.
And now I cannot part from her again,
Because her beauty and kindness delight me,
And her red, red mouth that laughs so brightly.

My heart and mind I have been turning
Unto the pure one, the good one, the dear one.
Ah, could I but fulfill my yearning:
I trust to her mercy that she will hear one.
All my joy on earth doth come from her,
Because her beauty and kindness delight me,
And her red, red mouth that laughs so brightly.

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Walter von der Vogelweide (1170 – 1228) Germany
Translated by Margarete Münsterberg

Source: A Harvest of German Verse, edited and translated by Margarete Münsterberg, D. Appleton and Co., 1916